Scotland Film Event Highlights – August 2013

As if Edinburgh didn't have enough festivals happening in August, Filmhouse delivers two more: Beyond Borders Scotland Film Festival and Just Festival. Other highlights include a sober Lindsay Lohan and David Bowie's codpiece

Feature
by Becky Bartlett
| 31 Jul 2013

Filmhouse in Edinburgh is hosting two festivals this month: Beyond Borders Scotland Film Festival (20-22 Aug) and Just Festival(4-22 Aug). The former, part of a series of other events taking place in Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders, consists of six films focused on themes of homeland, dialogue, and others. Included in the line-up is This is Not A Film (22 Aug), shot partly on an iPhone during director Jafar Panahi's house arrest and - so the story goes - smuggled out of Iran on a USB stick concealed within a cake. More information can be found on Filmhouse's website.

Four films are screening as part of Just Festival, which all consider the festival's theme of 'behind closed doors,' with specific reference to current European issues, traditions, and diversities. The Dardenne brothers' 2008 film The Silence of Lorna (4 Aug) begins the strand, and is followed by Illégal (8 Aug), prison drama R: Hit First, Hit Hardest (15 Aug), and Kalinovski Square (22 Aug). A Q&A follows each film, with Scottish MEPs and other experts discussing the various themes and issues raised.

Club Noir's Film Night returns on 24 Aug, with a special screening of Cabaret at Ghillie Dhu in Edinburgh. The multi-Oscar-winning film starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York, and Joel Grey is a decadent delight, featuring wonderful show tunes, tangled sexploits, and Nazis - a musical that embraces the seedy underbelly of Berlin in the 1930s. As with Club Noir's previous film nights, the movie is preceded by a special burlesque performance, and attendees are encouraged to dress for the occasion, making this far more than just a trip to the pictures.

The GFT is screening Mean Girls (23 Aug) as part of its Late Night Classicsseries. This scathing, hilarious teen flick, written by and starring Tina Fey, might be less than ten years old but it has already achieved classic status, largely because it is one of the most quotable films of recent years. This showing will be introduced by comedian Josie Long, and ticket prices include free entry to Nice 'n' Sleazy - it's the perfect excuse to don your finest pink clothing, pass judgement on the people around you, and learn a valuable life lesson about being yourself.

Finally, the Cameo in Edinburgh is hosting an '80s Fantasy Double Bill on 5 Aug, when back-to-back screenings of Labyrinth and Willow give audiences a chance to revisit their youth and, with regards to the former, be utterly transfixed by David Bowie's codpiece.